Heiderich
by SlvrSoleAlchmst1
Summary: [Hinted shounen ai: Ed x Alfons Heiderich.] Ed dropped into his world as if from a dream, talking of alchemy and parallel beings. Alfons isn't sure what to think, but he knows one thing. Edward Elric captivates him, so he'll help the boy the best he can.
1. A Quiet Waking

"Edward. Wake up." There came a gentle prod to his ribcage, and Edward Elric let out a lazy groan.

"Go away, Al." He wriggled farther underneath the covers. "I'm beat. I wanna sleep longer."

Alfons Heiderich drew away from the bedside, unsure of what he could do to fully wake the blonde alchemist. He suppressed a sigh.

Edward was like this _every_ morning – an impossible ball of flesh and metal parts that curled up and refused to heed any pleas for consciousness. Ed claimed it was because people in Munich didn't know how to "sleep in," but Alfons knew otherwise. There was something bothering the shorter boy, and Al was unable to do a thing about it. The knowledge of his own inadequacy made him feel helpless.

"Edward, please," he tried again. "Get out of bed, will you? We have things to do today."

Edward let out something between a grumble and a growl as he rolled over, still dazed. "Go bother Winry instead, Al."

Alfons straightened, a bit stricken. "Winry?" Perhaps Edward was talking in his sleep.

It was as if Al's baffled question had penetrated the Elric boy's mind at last. Ed's eyes snapped open and he sat up. He was frowning, aware of what he'd said while lying down. He carefully avoided Al's stare as he slouched over the covers and laid a hand across his forehead.

"I'm sorry, Alfons," Edward murmured after a while. "I keep forgetting where I am."

Al breathed a sigh of relief. Edward had realized his mistake. "It's all right. You were talking about your home, right?" He smiled. "Sometimes I forget things, too. I forget that you're not really one of us, so I get worried when you start talking like you aren't really here."

Ed's golden eyes looked glassy as he stared at the blanket, silent and unmoving.

"Although, you _could_ be one of us, Ed. You wouldn't have to try hard. We all like you here." Alfons received no answer. "The only reason you feel left out is because you're purposely putting distance between yourself and the rest of the world."

"The rest of _your_ world, you mean."

For a moment, Alfons felt a bolt of something hostile flow through him. It didn't last long. Hostility didn't suit his personality, and besides, all he really wanted to do was get Edward out of bed. He was allowing himself to be distracted by his deeper feelings – the part of him that desperately wanted Edward to pay attention, to react to what was around him for once, to acknowledge what was _real._ He wanted Edward to react to _him_, the human being that came into his bedroom every morning to rouse him from his slumbering fantasies that could never be.

Alfons was leaning over the bed before he could stop himself. "Ed," he said, reaching out a hand that nestled in the silken strands of golden hair, "Why can't you just _listen_ to me for once? I want you to sta—" But he stopped.

Edward had met his gaze with shock the moment Al had touched him. The Elric boy faltered, unnerved, and drew away with an uneasy hint of pink in his cheeks. Then he swallowed once.

"Wh-what's with you, Alfons?"

Al let him go, straining to keep his features from clouding with unhappiness as Ed forced a carefree smile onto his face.

"I'm telling you, Al, everything's fine. Can't a guy catch a break and sleep in?" He tossed the covers off and swung his feet over the edge of the mattress. "I mean, what if while I'm sleeping I'm dreaming up answers of how to get myself home? You'd have spoiled it!" This time, the grin was genuine, but Alfons Heiderich didn't share a shred of Ed's enthusiasm.

"This is what I mean, Ed," he said.

Edward's limbs tensed in irritation, and his voice came out harsher than Alfons expected. "Look, Al. I understand what you're saying. But I won't stop trying to get back. I have to make it work; I have to get there. I haven't got any other choice."

Alfons opened his mouth to snap a reply, but he thought better of it. Instead, he shook his head in awe. "No one calls me 'Al' but you," he said with a trace of amusement.

"Sorry," Ed said automatically. "It's what I call—"

"Your brother Alphonse. I know."

Ed shifted uncomfortably. The metal of his automail clanked, tainting the silence with a weight that neither boy should have had to bare. Alfons bit his lower lip. Nothing in the world was fair at all.

"We should do something about that arm and leg of yours," he said when Ed stood up and began searching for his clothes. Alfons pulled open the window drapes before tossing the alchemist his socks.

"What's wrong with them?" Edward asked, but all hints of irritation were gone. Now he sounded curious. That was more like Ed.

"Nothing," Al laughed. "In fact, I think they're amazing. I've never seen prosthetic limbs like that." He watched as Ed's lips curved upward, nostalgic and amused. "But you said yourself that you had to do your own modifications on that hand, and your mechanic never got to work on it before you came here. And what if something else breaks or wears down? People in Munich don't know how to handle that kind of strange machinery."

Ed tugged at his collar until it was loosened to his taste, then looked at Alfons. "You think it's smarter to let the doctors in your world do something about my limbs?"

Alfons couldn't hide his excitement any longer. "Not the doctors, Ed. Let _me_ do it."

"You?" Ed looked skeptical as he drew on his boots. "You specialize in rockets, Alfons."

"I'm an engineer! I can manipulate mechanical devices just as well as anyone else can. I've studied. Let me modify your _arm_ at least, so that you can use it here like you said you once used it with alchemy!"

Edward paused, flesh and blood fingers hovering at the sleeve cuff that covered his metal wrist. "You mean using it like a weapon?" He looked pensive.

"Sure. Why not?" Then Alfons winked, rejuvenated by the prospects of manipulating his talents for the sake of the boy that so captivated him. "You never know when you might need such a weapon."

Ed was mystified. "I'm not so sure a weapon is what I need right now. But I just can't figure you out, Alfons. One minute you're telling me to forget my world and live in yours, and the next, you're aiming to help me stay _connected_ to my world by offering to arm me to the teeth like I'm still in the military." He emitted a half-hearted chuckle. "What's your game?"

"No game," Al promised him, seizing his arm and leading the shorter boy to the door. "It's science, that's all. And I want to help you." He lowered his voice. "Ed, if giving you back things that you had in your world will make you more alive in ours, then I want to do it. Let me. Please." His heart pounded furiously.

"Al…" But Ed allowed himself to be led down the stairway and over the threshold.

They crossed the dusty cobblestone street, weaving between people and carts loaded with fruit and daily goods. Munich was always full of bustling citizens, and though they complained about the war, the prices, the world in and of itself – they always found something to be cheerful about. Alfons tried hard not to laugh out loud. He loved the place he lived in.

Edward tugged lightly at the sleeve that Alfons still clutched. "Are we going to the workshop?" he asked, but he didn't sound as if he needed an answer. "Al, c-could you stop holding on to me?"

The alchemist looked away with a flush as plain as day before shooting a grudging glare at his own feet.

"No," Alfons replied, and Edward whirled. "I don't want to lose you in the crowd."

But Al had to let go anyway - to duck the fist that came swinging in his direction.

"WHO'RE YOU CALLING SO PEA-SIZED THAT YOU CAN'T FIND HIM IN A GIANT MOB OF GERMANS?!"

It was a typical reaction of Ed's, when he thought about it. Alfons burst out laughing, dodging behind the pole of a striped awning and fighting to avoid collision with the irate Elric. Edward fumed while startled citizens stared, and the action heightened Al's hysteria. He clutched his stomach and his vision glittered through tears of mirth.

At once Alfons Heiderich's laughter was cut short. A wracking cough overtook him, and his chest heaved and shuddered with the violence of the attack. He threw a hand over his mouth, but the motion wouldn't stifle the force of the air that tore from his lungs.

Edward froze and blinked in anxiety. "Al? Al!" He rushed forward to take hold of Al's shoulders.

Alfons staggered, but managed to keep his balance as he answered. "I'm all right," he said. He tossed Edward a weak smile and swallowed the blood that had risen to the back of his throat. "I promise."

Ed released him with a well-concealed tremble even as he sagged in relief. "Heh. You sure you didn't swallow a frog or something?" There was deep worry lodged behind his golden eyes despite the teasing words.

"It happens all the time. I'll be okay," Alfons reassured him. "Come on, let's get to the workshop."

_A/N: I seem to be in an FMA mood. I felt that Alfons Heiderich was a compelling character that didn't get the attention he deserved when he popped up in the movie. I wanted some expansion on his inner feelings toward Edward, who showed up in his world as if from a dream. It must have been strange to Heiderich, don't you think? I'm writing this to try to fill in the blanks that the movie left open. Hopefully I'll be quick at updating this time._


	2. To Yearn for a Dream

Alfons ran his fingertips over the latest model of the rocket he'd been working to reconstruct. "It got all burnt up after its initial test run," he said, while Edward stood off to one side and tried his best not to appear interested.

"Yeah, well, a flying piece of machinery gets roasted in the atmosphere and falls to the ground… What did you expect?"

"Take it easy, Ed. If you think what we're doing here is so pointless, why do you come along with me every day?" Alfons fought back a smile when the Elric boy grimaced and fixed his face with a glare of indifference. "You want to learn about it just as badly as the rest of us." His voice rang in the silence that ensued around them.

"Science instead of alchemy, huh?" Edward brought his hands together slowly and clapped once, his vision glazed over at some inner thought, and Alfons wondered yet again what so much nostalgia was good for.

"Let's work on that arm, Edward."

The blonde alchemist extracted himself from his memories and flailed his hands wildly. "Now hold on a minute! I didn't give you permission to do anything! I have a mechanic in Resembool – she's really good at fixing automail, and besides, nothing's _wrong_ with these limbs yet, so can't we just—"

He fell silent at Al's hand on his shoulder.

Alfons went still and toyed with the idea of running his fingers through Ed's hair again; the alchemist had left it unbraided when they'd exited for the workshop in such a hurry. The strands were long and gilded – no one in Munich styled their locks that way. It made Edward look exotic, and for a moment, Al almost allowed himself to believe that the Elric boy truly _did_ hail from another place. An alternate universe where people did alchemy with magic circles, created things from nothing but piles of ingredients and a stick of white chalk. Where the military was called the State, and people had faces like the people in _his_ world, but with different souls. Where boys like Edward Elric carried pocket watches and fought homunculi and performed forbidden rites on humans that resulted in the loss of limbs.

Alfons Heiderich lifted his hand when Ed drew away. "Gah! Are you even listening to me, Heiderich?"

And then Alfons couldn't help himself. He frowned. There were so many things he wanted to know. So much Ed hadn't told him, and Al had never asked because he'd cared too much from the very start. There'd been something about the boy who'd knocked on his door less than a year ago, looking sheepish as his father explained why they had come. They wanted to learn about rockets, Hohenheim of Light had said, and Ed wanted to study Goddard's theories about flying to the moon. It'd been such an odd request. _Take Edward in and teach him everything you know_, Hohemheim had pleaded, despite the fact that the Elric boy openly protested. Ed had wanted to learn science on his own.

Alfons had agreed to take him in anyway. Hohenheim of Light disappeared soon after, leaving Edward with nowhere else to go. Al ignored the way Edward looked at him in the days that followed – sidelong glances that held a hint of regret and affection, along with some strange familiarity he couldn't place. Al hadn't asked a thing. He'd seen fire in Edward Elric's eyes, something that smoldered and waited for its time to burst forth great and terrible. A fire that would make him more successful than any of Alfons Heiderich's team had ever dreamed to become themselves. Edward had seen things, _done_ things, that no other man had. A curious spark had seemed to pass from Ed to Alfons that lit a flame in Alfons's _own_ heart, and so Al had quietly accepted the boy that dropped in from nowhere.

Now Edward sat on a stray work stool and snarled his objection. Alfons felt his emotions rising like a rocket to the outer atmosphere.

"Just listen to me, will you Ed?" he cried, raising his voice to a level that wasn't fit for one of mild temper like himself. "I'm only trying to help you! I understand that machinery from my world is different than you're used to, but try to see my point. The Treaty of Versailles caused an uproar, Ed, and Germany is in a state of political unrest. What if something happens? What if we have a second World War and everyone is dragged in? Don't you want the power to fight back if it's possible?"

Ed put his hands on his hips and his golden eyes narrowed. "Except you're forgetting one thing: I'm not part of your world, and I don't have to fight for you! Another war here won't mean anything to me. I'm not involved. I only want to go home and find my brother again!"

The words pierced Alfons like an assault of tiny blades, and he bit his lip until it stung. When Ed searched his face, he refused to meet the smaller boy's gaze.

Edward huffed quietly and muttered under his breath. "Why are you so gung-ho about all this, anyway? Making me an arm in case there's a war. Building as many rockets as you can as fast as you can, and giving them all sorts of uses. The world is the all and you're the one! You're caught up in a universal flow you can't stop, Al. Anything you do will make an impact on the world, especially if some sort of Equivalency still exists. So shouldn't you slow down and make sure you know what you're doing?" Alfons glanced up, stricken. "I mean, before your rockets get turned into weapons and a bunch of people are k—"

"Be quiet! You don't understand a thing, Edward," Alfons intercepted, his voice going hoarse with his heightened rage. He wanted to strike the boy across from him, but he knew better. "You're too busy thinking about some other place, telling stories and living a fantasy! If you'd only focus on what's happening here, you'd see. Maybe you're right. I don't know the future and perhaps I'll pay for guessing wrong. But either way," he coughed violently, but held his chest and ploughed on. "Either way, a human life is short! I haven't got the time to be indecisive!"

Al shuddered. He was breaking out in a cold sweat. He could feel the thin material of his shirt growing saturated with moisture as the heat made him dizzy and he fought to draw breath. There was no blood this time – it had likely drained from him in his fury – but still, it was difficult to keep steady.

Edward was at his side within seconds. The alchemist guided him to the stool he had previously occupied. "You're right, Alfons. I'm sorry. I've seen my share of horrible things. Our time alive is too short, and maybe we waste it hesitating." His words were bitter. "Hughes would have—" But he choked on his sentence and changed the subject, though Al sensed grief in Edward's posture; there was something painful he'd remembered.

"I'm sorry I upset you, Al. It's all right – you can work on my automail."

Al's breathing came ragged, but he found he could speak again. He swiped a hand across his mouth and did so cautiously. "I'll be careful. I promise."

Edward Elric grinned. "Heh, no worries. If I can trust a violent mechanic and her old lady side-kick, I'm sure I can trust my brother's grown up look-alike."

Alfons stood and averted his gaze. Ed had done it again, compared him to another person that didn't exist in the same space or time. It made his insides curl with a kind of helplessness. He wanted Ed to accept him for _him_, Alfons Heiderich, not merely the incarnation of one Alphonse Elric that he simply resembled.

"Why don't you have a seat?" Al tried to wipe the awful yearning from his mind.

It wasn't long before Ed was positioned on his stomach, shirtless and fidgety up on the worktable.

"Why do I feel like a meat slab about to be chopped into sirloin?" he whined, and Alfons laughed.

"Relax. I won't hurt you." He brandished his tools and leaned over Ed's arm.

"Yeah. Easy for you to sa—AAHHRRGHH!" There was a static crackle and the Elric boy gritted his teeth.

"Ed? Ed!"

"YAAAHHHH… You didn't even ask how the automail was connected, you idiot! All my nerves are attached. I can _feel_ that, you know! Wait'll I get my hands on you…" He caught a glimpse of Alfons stifling another chuckle, and the tabletop lurched as Ed struggled to spring upward. "YOU'RE DOING IT ON PURPOSE, YOU ROCKET-OBSESSED DOPPELGANGER MURDERER!"

"Haha, sorry Ed, but I think you earned that one for being so smug. Relax. I'll go easy now."

"Stop jerking me around!" Edward was breathing hard, his face pale with agony that he masked with a death-glare. Al paused. He hadn't realized the attachment of automail was such an excruciating process. He'd caused Edward more pain than he'd meant to.

"I'm sorry," he repeated, taking care to shift the parts gently after that. To his surprise, Ed stiffened and buried his face in the crook of his human arm, but not before Alfons caught the brilliant shade of red on his features.

He worked silently, enjoying the tick and clatter of mechanical parts. Ed kept his head down, and Alfons fiddled and tinkered in reflection. They only spoke when necessary. Edward handed over an item when asked, but otherwise conversation remained minimal. Alfons didn't mind; it gave him time to observe the prone body before him. Edward was well-built. The scars marring the skin where his arm had been torn away retracted nothing from the contoured torso that was already there. Al watched the movement of Ed's back as the alchemist inhaled and exhaled. Perfect lines and chiseled muscles rose and fell - likely the trophies of hard training and discipline.

"You and your brother Alphonse must have been through a lot," Al whispered, barely moving his lips as he unscrewed a section of metal and removed the clump of wires behind it.

"Yeah," Ed murmured, sighing slowly and lifting his head. His mane of golden hair brushed against Al's forearm. "But I don't doubt _you_ could say the same. How'd you get here, Alfons? Everyone here is a genius twice your age."

"I studied as hard as I could."

"Don't be naïve. You must have sacrificed something bigger than that to come this far."

"Does that comment mean you still believe in Equivalent Exchange? That you have to give something up before your effort is repaid?"

Edward jerked, and Al wasn't sure whether it was out of anger or a reaction to the cord he'd just pulled.

"Have you been talking to my father?" Ed asked testily.

"Your father, Hohenheim… he explained the law to me when I asked. He's better at answering questions than you are, Ed." Alfons bent lower over the tiny bolt he was attaching.

"Maybe so," Ed countered, "But the bastard never sticks around to answer enough of 'em." Then he stayed quiet until Alfons lost his sense of calm once more - the result of Ed's snide remark.

Al put down the sandpaper he'd been gripping with white-knuckled intensity. "You know, you aren't much better at enlightening people." When he'd closed his fist, the rough surface had scraped a layer off his palm. He stared at the spot he'd unwittingly rubbed raw, then back at Edward Elric.

"How am I supposed to enlighten you when you think I'm only feeding you lies and fantasies?" the alchemist growled.

Alfons gave a sad smile. "I don't know, Ed. It's kind of stupid, isn't it? I don't know why I bother to find out at all, when I've got rockets to build and a hypothesis to test that will surpass even Robert Hutchins Goddard if I get it right."

"Al…"

"Maybe the reason I push myself is because I _have_ given up something to come this far, whether I knew it at the time or not, and I don't want my efforts to be in vain." He clutched at his chest instinctively.

Edward's eyes flickered, and Alfons knew the sharp boy had read his mind. "My teacher," Ed began, "She had a cough like yours—"

"I thought you said your teacher was sick because she used alchemy to sacrifice her internal organs, Edward," Alfons interrupted. "There's no alchemy here. I didn't make an exchange."

Ed looked momentarily stunned. "Y-You were actually listening when I talked about my teacher?"

"You'd be surprised how much I can't help listening to you sometimes."

"Hey! What does _that_ mean?"

"It means I care, Ed. That's all." At once, Al felt his cheeks growing hot with embarrassment, and he turned his head away quickly. Alfons feared Edward would sense meaning that he himself wasn't sure was clear yet. "You can get up," he said. "It's done. You'll have to go to a place in town to have the skin put on, though. And I'll do your leg tomorrow."

Edward climbed to his feet. "I even get fake skin? Heh, I feel like a zombie that's been pieced together."

Al moved aside as Ed flexed his fingers experimentally, then rotated his shoulder.

"Not bad, Alfons Heiderich. If Winry could see this, she'd have a fit."

Alfons stacked the spare parts in one corner and began collecting his tools from the worktable. He tucked them away one by one, steadily monitoring the movement of the Elric boy in his peripheral vision. Ed stretched lazily, and Al had the sudden urge to run his hands over the ripples that traversed the boy's torso.

Alfons faltered and shook his head to clear it.

"So what kind of defense mechanism did you give me?" Edward asked, and Al was brought hurtling back to the present just in time to duck a mock punch.

"You'll see," he said. "Wait until you're outside to test it. Snap it back at the elbow and pull the ignition cord on the inside. But make sure to aim." Edward shot him a dissatisfied look, but Al didn't say any more. He wanted to witness the raw reaction when Ed finally experienced his prime engineering skills.

"Do I owe you anything for this?"

Al's mouth slipped open in astonishment. "No, of course not."

Edward raised a wary eyebrow. "Okay – your mistake. Equivalent Exchange, you know." He closed one eye and stuck out his tongue. "Besides, if I was at home I would have been charged a fortune."

"You aren't at home, Ed." Alfons wished he hadn't said it the moment the words fell from his lips. He didn't miss the second of hesitation in Edward's experimental movements.

"I know, Alfons," the alchemist replied quietly, resuming his warm up routine with only a little less enthusiasm. "I know."

_A/N: Well, this chapter ended up a little heavier than I thought. To think I had planned to keep it light and then all these deeper themes sprung up. Might as well go with them – Alfons is, after all, a character with depth and potential, and this story is his. I'll do it justice!_

_On another note, can anyone recommend any good fics already out there that revolve around Alfons Heiderich?_


	3. The Alchemist's Vindication

Alfons folded his napkin neatly while Edward stuffed another forkful of potatoes into his mouth. He tried not to laugh. The alchemist was hardly chewing.

"Relax, Ed. I'll wait for you to finish before we leave, so take your time."

Edward's jaw dropped and he paused, as if only then realizing how quickly he'd been scoffing his meal. "Yeah, you're right. I guess I'm just anxious, that's all." He swallowed. Then he choked.

"Seriously, Ed," Alfons chuckled, handing the flailing hands a glass of liquid refreshment, "You really need to slow down."

Ed downed the drink in three gulps. Then he sputtered wildly into his napkin. "AUGHH. Was that milk?!"

"Yes. Why?"

"I _hate_ milk! Are you trying to kill me or what? Cow throw-up, and all lumpy and churning to boot—"

"It is not! Besides, if you don't drink milk, you'll never—"

"I know, I know. I'll never grow, I get it! STOP SAYING I'M SHORT, ALFON—" But Al's forefinger over his mouth thoroughly shushed him.

Alfons was leaning over the table, his face inches away from the Elric boy's. He'd made the choice to quiet Edward on a whim, but he'd still been careful not to trail his sleeves through the stew that perched between them. Al didn't know why he'd bothered to hush Ed, anyway – it wasn't like the alchemist ever did what he was told – but it'd seemed like the best idea at the time. In any case, Edward was bright red now, and he gazed with mortification down his nose at the finger that hovered near his lips.

"Al_fons_," he hissed, and Al sat back down.

"I'm just trying to get you to listen, Ed," Alfons reassured, tucking his napkin in his lap once more and lifting his spoon serenely. "I didn't say you were short."

"It's not what you said – it's what you implied! And stop smirking at me!"

Al wiped the amusement from his face immediately, though his eyes still twinkled. His submission had the desired effect. Edward calmed down. Alfons noticed with satisfaction that he'd slowed his eating speed tenfold as well.

"So," Edward said finally, as if none of the prior chaos had occurred, "Have you heard anything new from the Professor?"

"Professor Oberth?" Al's face creased into a frown. "I haven't. I know he's been busy, and I know it's because of him that the Spaceflight Society has come this far, but sometimes I…" There came a loud knock on the front door.

"I'll get it," Edward volunteered, and Al merely nodded. The alchemist made his way to the foyer, but his hand paused over the knob and he turned back. "Hermann Oberth hasn't abandoned you _or_ your team of rocket engineers. He knows you've come far in your research. Give the Professor a little credit. After all, if he hadn't taken you as his apprentice at his factory, then you and I would have never met, right?"

Al's blue eyes flew wide.

The knock sounded on the door again. Ed whirled around, impatient. "Yeah, yeah. Hold your horses. Who is it?" Then he gasped. "What the hell are _you_ doing here, old man? I thought you were gone for good this time!" Edward Elric growled, clearly incensed.

"Professor Hohenheim!" Al strode excitedly to the door and shook the man's hand.

Ed glanced between them, thunderstruck. "_Professor?_"

"Go easy, Edward, and don't raise your voice. I'm not as young as I used to be." Hohenheim of Light removed his shoes and hung his umbrella on the coat rack.

"If you want me to yell, I can _yell_, old man."

"Now, now. Go back and eat your dinner."

The order only irritated Edward further. "Easy for you to say, pops! If you're here, then that means I'm gonna watch you like a hawk so you can't give me the slip again. You haven't told me half of what I need to know!"

Hohenheim sighed. "It's Alfons I'm here to speak with this time, Edward."

Edward blinked. "Alfons?"

Al averted his gaze, but Ed's stare pierced him to the core.

"You knew he was coming?"

Alfons Heiderich didn't answer, so Ed spun around again to shout at the tall man with the glasses.

"Where the hell have you been?"

Hohenheim sagged wearily. When he saw that his son was not about to let him pass, he removed his dripping coat and draped it across the nearest chair. "I thought I told you I was going to study with Haushofer."

Alfons had to take a step back when Ed made an irate sweeping motion with his arm. "That doesn't tell me a thing. Why would you want to exchange ideas with him, anyway? There's nothing you can learn here that will work the same as alchemy. There's nothing that can even come close!"

The lines on Hohenheim's face appeared deeper than when Alfons had last seen him, and there was a dullness to his eyes behind the lenses. "Are you sure, Edward?"

Ed's breath caught in his throat. He opened his mouth to protest, but suddenly Hohenheim noticed the mechanical arm and seized it.

"You see?" he said, lifting the sleeve to reveal the artificial skin and prod at its surface. "You're already making use of the things that I've learned. This very arm is the result of mixing my alchemic knowledge with the science found in this world. I crafted this arm, you know. It's my model; there's no mistaking the workmanship." Hohenheim's gaze found Alfons. "Wouldn't you agree, Mr. Heiderich?"

"_His_ model?" Ed cried, tearing free of his father's grasp and seeking Al's petrified stare. "_He's_ the one that made this?"

Alfons couldn't bring himself to answer. Edward was furious.

"I based it off the automail technology from Amestris," Hohenheim interrupted, peering at Al for a split second before returning focus to his son. "And I modified it when I was sent through the gate. It's no great surprise, Edward. You really should have guessed. Didn't Pinako ever tell you that I was the one who brought automail to our world to begin with? I invented the practice over four hundred years ago."

"Your father's work is incredible," Alfons whispered, wishing the meekness would evaporate from his voice. Hohenheim of Light spouted stories even stranger than the ones Edward Elric told, but his scientific inventions had earned Al's respect. He cleared his throat. "Prosthetic limbs of that quality were difficult to make until your father came along and revolutionized the process. He's even made a number of spares. No one can do it but him."

Alfons had thought his explanation would sooth Edward. It did just the opposite, and Al jumped as the alchemist came flying toward him.

"And you, Alfons? What does any of this have to do with you? Did you throw in your lot in with his? Mess around behind my back? You went and put that bastard's automail on my arm, acting like it was nothing, like it was just _practice_ with mechanics. Like you could somehow use it with your damn rockets!"

"Edward, let go of me." Al hacked weakly, fighting to pry Ed's hands from his collar.

Hohenheim clapped a heavy palm onto Edward's shoulder and forced the two of them apart. "I didn't tell Alfons to do it, son," he said, and Ed growled something unintelligible. "Ask him yourself. He probably did it because he wanted to help you. God knows _I_ wasn't the one who installed that ignition mechanism. Alfons figured out how to do that with nothing but his own sheer skill." Edward was hardly mollified by this news.

"I knew you would be upset," Al ventured, glancing carefully into Edward's perilous golden eyes. "So I didn't tell you."

Ed ripped himself away from the scene with a loud curse. He stormed through the foyer and past the dining room, fuming. "God damn it, why is everybody always keeping secrets?"

Alfons watched him march off with half a mind to follow. Then Hohenheim's hand was at the small of his back, keeping him there. Al concluded their dinner was destined to get cold.

"He'll only be upset for a while," the elder man said, picking up his coat and donning it with a grunt of defeat. "It's a shame, though. For once the two of you seemed to be getting along."

Al handed him his umbrella and observed the downpour when Hohenheim opened the door. "We do get along," he said. "Better than I thought we would."

"Yet you act like mere acquaintances. You don't get along like brothers."

Alfons felt the familiar pang of helplessness welling inside him again. "We _aren't_ brothers, Professor." His fist tightened.

Hohenheim of Light halted, his expression well hidden under the rim of his black umbrella. "That's right. I keep forgetting. I hope you'll forgive me, Alfons. It's just that you remind me so much of my younger son."

"I know. I remind Ed too." He didn't mean for his response to sound so bitter. Hohenheim left without another word. Alfons closed the door and shook droplets off his face. The resounding click of the lock sent shivers down his spine when the noise echoed through the empty chamber.

"We do get along," he whispered to the puddle that was forming on the hardwood floor. "It's just that Edward is so distant sometimes." When Hohenheim's tall figure melded into the gloom outside, he turned around and made his way to Edward's room.

Ed's door was unlocked.

"Where's my father?" he asked as soon as Al had entered.

Alfons wasted no time in making his mood known. "He left, because you couldn't grow up."

"What, do you want me to start wailing or something because now there's no telling whether he'll come back? Don't make me laugh, Al."

Alfons Heiderich was a good-humored individual. He hated getting angry, and found that arguing solved nothing as quickly as rational cooperation did. But there was something about the Elric boy that was fast decomposing his will to remain levelheaded. Edward fueled a fire in him – a desire that made him burn with questions that begged answering, with hope that made him feel less useless in the grand scheme of rocket science. Even when he was surrounded by minds greater than his, cast aside by theorists and engineers with higher credits and more experience, Al had never felt his goals were out of reach with the Elric boy working beside him. It had been over a year, and still nothing was impossible; Edward's optimism and innovative thinking often proved that. But at the same time, Ed was an enigma. An enigma that drove Al mad with curiosity and pushed him to the brink of his sanity with his brashness and temper.

Alfons let out a mirthless laugh before he could stop himself. "How does it feel to be the one left in the dark for once, Ed?" This time he didn't care that his voice rang foreign and hostile.

Edward smashed his arm into the dresser. The wood splintered at the impact. "You think you're the one without a clue, is that it? You think _you're_ the one being treated unfairly?" Al flinched as another strike to an inanimate object caused a crash. "Then tell me, Alfons Heiderich, why it is that _you_ know more about my father Hohenheim than _I_ do!"

In a flash, Alfons had been slammed against the door, Edward's palms pressed into the woodwork on either side of him.

"_Well?_" The blonde alchemist was panting.

They were standing too close together. Alfons could feel the steady breath from the other boy's lips, see the beads of moisture that had collected on his forehead. He was boxed in – tightly muscled, human arm on one side, dangerous mechanical machine limb on the other. His heartbeat faltered.

"Humor me a minute, Ed," Al murmured, determined not to cave until he'd gotten his answers. "Why do you hate Hohenheim of Light so much?"

The alchemist looked taken aback. "I don't hate him, okay?" he spat, "I just… Look, it's none of your business, Al." Ed moved as if to retreat at last, but Alfons grabbed the folds of his shirt and held him in place.

"Your father says the same ludicrous things you do," Al whispered, striving to control his fury. "But he tries to explain things when I ask. I've learned more about your mysterious alchemic world from him than I ever did from you. And it didn't cost him anything to tell me. Your problem is that you don't care, Edward. All you want is to use our research to find a new way to open the gate. Don't make that face; I knew it all along. But the truth is, your ideas have still helped us. And Professor Hohenheim has helped _me_."

Ed struggled to dislodge his body, but Al refused to relinquish his hold. He kept them there, locked together, himself pressed against the door and Edward hovering over him, quite stunned.

"I'm not some figment of your imagination, Ed. And I'm not your brother Alphonse, either. The least you could do is try to acknowledge that."

Alfons was finished negotiating. He felt sick. He'd unleashed his bottled emotions in a single onslaught, and now he was drained. There followed a thick silence, ruffled only by Edward's desperate breathing. The alchemist wasn't struggling to loose himself anymore, but he trembled slightly. Al kept his hands latched onto Ed's quaking form, grateful that he had something physical to hang on to as his mind went reeling.

"Alfons, I—"

"Just don't talk, Ed. Please, shut up." He ignored the way his lungs made wheezing noises in his ribcage. "Because no matter what you say, I know you'll be back to yourself within minutes. Forgetting I'm even here. Shutting me out."

Edward chuckled weakly – it seemed the only thing he was capable of. "You make me sound so self-centered. If it's any consolation, I'm doing all this for a reason."

"Reason or not, it's a little late for that."

"Wh-What d'you mean, Al?"

Al's face darkened. "Six months from now, there'll be a carnival coming to Munich. Oberth wants us to put our latest rockets on display – a test run with an audience. There are all sorts of politicians and military officials looking for a use for something like the liquid fuel rocket, Ed. This could be my big chance to help Germany, don't you see? I'd leave a mark on history's pages. I may even get my own factory if I succeed."

Edward's eyes widened, and a tiny breath of air escaped his lips. "But do you really think that'll—"

"If my team gets a big chance, I won't turn it down. That's what I mean, Ed. I'll put my heart and soul into it for all I'm worth, and I won't be coming home to this house, or back to the old workshop. I knew you'd never agree to me giving up my discoveries so easily, so you won't come with me even if I ask, will you? We may have met because of Professor Oberth, but we'll split up because of him, too. He sides with me. So go open your gate and look for your brother. I'll be doing something a little more scientific."

Ed shifted his hands from the door to Al's shoulders and gave him a little shake. "Alfons, just a second. I never said I didn't want to work with you! You're the only chance I've got!"

"And you'll keep pushing me aside until you get that chance. Don't fool yourself, Edward – we're all lifeless wraiths to you. You'll always believe more in your world than you will in ours, even though you're here with us standing in it. Standing here with _me_."

Edward let his arms drop in what Al decided was defeat, listing forward until Alfons was forced to catch him round the shoulders to support him. He did so with as little emotion as possible; he didn't want to feel Edward against him now, didn't want to take responsibility for the way he'd sapped the otherworldly alchemist of his resolve and injected him with guilt.

Ed laid his forehead against the crook of Al's neck, and Alfons held his breath.

"Look, Alfons, I'm sorry," Ed mumbled. He stirred restlessly and the movement of body against body sent Al's system into shock mode. "It was never my intention to make you feel like you were being used. I just get carried away. Hell, I'm an alchemist – I go to extremes. And I can't change the fact that finding my brother Alphonse is the only thought in my head right now."

Al shook as sensation came back to him. Ed seemed to share his reaction. He looked up. "Alfons?"

"I…" The fact that their faces were mere inches apart registered with the velocity of a freight train.

To Al's great surprise, it was Edward that flushed to the eartips and shot backward, untangling them once and for all.

"YOU TRYIN' TO GIVE ME A HEART ATTACK?" Ed shouted, tripping across an overturned chair and barely managing to seize the bedpost for balance.

Alfons couldn't help it. He smiled. "Does all the yelling mean you haven't forgotten about studying rocketry?

"Like I said – I'll stick around. I wish you wouldn't keep getting weird on me, Al."

"You're the one that's weird. Your face matches the tomatoes from our salad."

Ed sputtered before crying out in agony. "Our dinner! It's probably all cold!"

"Then why don't we go finish it?" Al opened the door and headed down the stairs.

"Fine. As long as you don't feed me any more milk."

"Don't choke and I won't have to. Er, but you should still hurry. Now we're late for the workshop."

"WHAT? You should say those sorts of things earlier!"

They bickered their way into the dining room. Alfons heaved a sigh while Ed shoveled down his lukewarm stew.

Alfons knew they'd barely hit the tip of the iceberg. They had a long way to go before they understood each other. But still, as he polished off his meal, he found he wasn't quite as daunted as before. For the first time in a long time, Al's heart felt light.

_A/N: Now that it's been a solid three chapters, guys, I need some drop dead honest opinions. Criticism would be great. Heiderich's a rather unexplored realm, so I'll take all the help I can get._


	4. Sincerity

Alfons squinted hard at the blueprints spread out before him. There'd been too many thin sheets to arrange across the workshop table, so he'd shifted himself to the floor. Edward Elric was already there, his nose buried in a copy of Frankenstein. His back was propped against the stacks of books that huddled in the workshop's back corner.

Al stared at the lines and numbers on his set of charts until his sight went bleary. At last he paused to watch the young alchemist instead, his pen ticking back and forth absently as he neglected his blueprints for the sake of observation. The Elric boy's hair fell into his eyes when he turned the page of his book, but he made no move to brush it back. He appeared to be entirely absorbed.

"You giving up already, Alfons?"

Al started. Edward hadn't so much as blinked, and as far as Alfons could tell, the alchemist's eyes were still flying over the words on the pages.

"Uhm," he swallowed, and was glad Edward didn't look up to see the astonishment that was creeping onto his face. "No, I'm not giving up. I could use your help, though."

"I'm reading."

Al's lips fell into a frown. "How is reading Frankenstein supposed to be scientific or helpful? We're surrounded by all sorts of educational books. We've even got Einstein and Newton. Why not read those?"

Ed still didn't look up. "I've already read them." Alfons choked back his surprise. "Besides," the alchemist went on, "The book I'm reading may be fiction, but it proves a point. This doctor tries to create a human life, because he thinks the power of science can make it possible. But life can't be created that way no matter _how_ great science is. The doctor only ends up with a twisted imitation of a person, nothing like a real human being at all. He creates a monster, and then he has to take responsibility for the results of the taboo he's committed."

"Sounds like the doctor was a bit of a fool," Alfons said, picking up his ruler and laying it over his chart with a shrug. "Didn't he think about the cost of what he was doing, or listen to other people's warnings?"

Edward's response was so quiet that Al strained to hear him. "He didn't need to," the alchemist whispered. "He believed, and that was all that mattered."

Alfons went still. He'd experienced the smallest of chills after hearing the words, but he shook it off and began labeling his diagram. "In any case, Ed, it's not like you to be reading a novel when you could be studying. You must have a good reason for choosing that book." He glanced over at the Elric boy, slightly shocked to see that the novel had been closed and placed aside.

"I'll tell you why some other time." Ed leaned over and pointed at one of the figures near Al's right. "What's that? Looks complicated." He grinned.

Al's attention was drawn quickly to the jumble of numbers that Ed indicated. "Those _are_ complicated. They're the coordinates for the innermost gears on the new rocket engine I'm developing. If I get this right, the finished rocket will reach a speed of almost eleven kilometers per second."

"Alfons," Ed said, "That's fast."

"I know! The fastest one to date. It'll set a record if it works." Alfons knew he must have sounded giddy with enthusiasm, but the prospect of designing a new class of rocket washed away his embarrassment. Then he stopped. Edward's face was tight and serious.

"You think it's _too_ fast," Al said flatly, feeling his insides go sour as he caught the look on Ed's face. "You're worrying again about the use my rockets will come to if I attract the attention of the military."

There was no trace of apology on Edward's countenance as he answered. "The military will use you, Al. You'll be like a dog on a leash, and they'll manipulate your talents to get what they want without your even realizing."

Al clenched a fist. His good mood was spoiled. "Why? Is that what happened to you? I'm not like you, Ed." He was growing increasingly annoyed. There he was, on the brink of a ground breaking new development, and all the blonde alchemist could do was tell him how that development would be abused and turned against him.

Ed must have sensed his displeasure, for he retreated to the other end of the book stack and promptly began to adjust a wooden compass. "I'm just saying that you have to watch out, Alfons." His tone was lighter now. "Sometimes when you get too wrapped up in your own goals, you miss the big picture. Other people take advantage of that."

Al felt his shoulders relax. "I won't let my rockets get turned into high speed missiles, if that's what you're worried about." He allowed himself a little grin, and Edward mirrored the expression. Then Ed leaned over to mark the fuel gauge on the chart, and his arm brushed Al's chest.

A shiver ran through Alfons's body, a sensation that was completely different from the chill he'd felt when Ed had been talking about Frankenstein. At once Al was highly aware of the way they sat beside each other on the workshop floor, the way Ed was currently positioned so as to place his head directly beneath Al's chin. Alfons stiffened. Edward didn't appear to notice a thing. He shifted again to extend his reach – now he leaned across Al's lap on all fours, scribbling away on the blueprints. There came an increase in Al's heart rate, and he swallowed as discreetly as possible.

It seemed an eternity before Ed got up again, rubbing ink off his hands and looking satisfied with himself.

"There," he said, "Now that you've increased the speed, those calculations should account for the higher amount of fuel that'll be burned."

Alfons found his tongue was sticking to the roof of his mouth. "Th-thanks," he managed, and Ed nodded before turning to a scale model at their left.

Alfons's head was reeling. He hadn't wanted Edward to draw away, and yet he'd prayed the older boy would do just that before he lost his control. When Ed had slipped past him, he'd caught the scent of the alchemist's silken hair, and the realization had driven him wild. Al gritted his teeth and forced himself to resume his task. He was being a fool – he couldn't afford to waste his thoughts on strange feelings of attraction. He had a rocket to build, and precious little time.

"Tell me more about Amestris," Al said weakly, praying that Ed would take off on another of his fantastical rants.

But Edward froze at the request, another painful look engulfing his features. "To tell you the truth, Al, I don't really feel like talking about my home right now. You're right. I'm stuck here, so I've got to focus on this world."

Alfons didn't give up. "What about that guy with the gloves that made sparks? What was his name?" His prompt had the desired effect.

Ed let out a mischievous hiss, and his lips transformed into a sinister smile upon which hovered myriad unspoken death threats. "You mean the colonel with the god complex?"

Al couldn't help the chuckle that came bubbling forth. "Yeah, that one."

"Roy Mustang. Heh, the only one that liked him was his first lieutenant Hawkeye."

"That's not what you said. You said he was popular and that his men were all loyal."

Ed grimaced. "Did I? They only liked him because he swore he'd become Fuhrer and dress all the female officers in mini skirts."

Alfons burst out laughing. "I don't believe you."

Edward's grin matched his. "Fine. But it's true. So is the story about that lady-thief Psiren who thwarted me with her chest." His smile grew when Al failed to answer through his fit of mirth.

When Alfons could finally breath again, he straightened and reached for his toolbox. "I can't concentrate on these plans anymore," he said. "Why don't we work on the prototype for the carnival?" When he stood up, he knocked into a stack of books that Edward had moved. To his horror, they wobbled perilously.

Before either of them could react, the books went cascading down and crashed into a model of planet earth. It was a wooden skeleton meant to illustrate the way the planet tilted on its axis, with a solid orb in the center to mark the earth's core. And it was teetering from impact.

Alfons shot upward and sought to steady it. He readied himself for a sigh of relief, but almost too late he noticed that Edward had sprung up as well. He stepped to one side to avoid a collision. Still, while he'd grabbed the model by its sturdy base, Ed had latched onto the delicate wood skeleton.

Al panicked, flailing his free arm before he could think to do anything more useful. "Ed!" His voice came out high-pitched. "Don't hold it by that part – it's too fragile! You'll break it!"

Ed released his hold at once, and Al sagged in relief. He steadied the wooden globe on its stand before he dipped to reclaim the toolbox he'd dropped in the chaos. Suddenly he caught the look on Ed's face.

Edward hadn't let go because Alfons had told him to.

"Al…"

The alchemist's mouth hung open just slightly, and Al resisted the urge to reach out and pinch it closed. The expression in Ed's eyes frightened him. There was something deep and moving behind the golden stare, a look of utter shock mixed with adoration and passion, and even a little sadness. Alfons knew that look. Edward was gazing at him the way a person would gaze upon the ghost of someone they once cared for, someone that was supposed to be long gone.

Edward Elric had just seen his brother.

Alfons suppressed the emotions he felt rising. He strove to keep his voice calm and level. "I just did something that almost fooled you into thinking I was Alphonse for _real_ this time, didn't I?"

It took Edward a long minute to answer. "You started freaking out and yelling at me, just like Al used to whenever he thought I was going to break something or get hurt," he said at last. "He was so funny when he did things like that." There was an apologetic smile hovering on his features.

Alfons hesitated. He felt the familiar frustration well up inside him, but this time it was eclipsed by something else. Al indeed felt helpless when Ed looked at him like that, like he was merely a shadow of what was real. But at once he realized it was Edward that must have felt the most helpless.

The knowledge did nothing to ease Al's wounds, yet a sudden impulse seemed to seize him, and he acted.

Without a sound, he reached out and caught Edward's forearm – the one made of flesh – before lifting the shorter boy's wrist to his lips. Ed's breathing hitched at the contact, but Alfons didn't halt his progress. He kissed the sensitive underside of the skin there, feeling the way the blonde alchemist ceased to move as if Al had placed him under a spell. He worked his way slowly down Ed's lower arm, trailing over the milky smoothness of flesh until the boy shuddered, then reversed his direction so he was brushing his lips gently over the outer curve of Edward's hand.

Alfons didn't dare allow himself time to think. Somehow, he knew he'd left Ed's skin tingling with a sensation that only another's lips could cause, just as he somehow knew Edward had frozen out of fear of his own rising desire, as well as wariness of Al's identical craving. Al hadn't meant to draw out their contact for so long. The last thing he wanted was to incur the Elric boy's wrath and risk Ed leaving for good. He sucked carefully on Ed's little finger and pulled away slowly, reluctantly.

Edward's eyes were wider than Al had ever seen them, his face flushed so pink that Al worried he'd angered the only person worth his attention in their busy age of rocketry and science.

But Edward's voice was low and shaky when he spoke. "A-Alfons, wh-what was…"

"Sorry Ed," Alfons couldn't find it in him to muster any sort of facial expression. He was too horrified with himself to react. "It was just my way of telling you that everything will be all right, and you'll find your brother."

Edward seemed to relax, but his face was still red as he hollered, "That isn't the way people usually go around spreading pity, you know!"

"I wasn't pitying you." Edward was strong. Al knew that pity wasn't what the alchemist needed.

"Good! Because I don't want your pity!"

The embarrassment on Ed's face made Al want to laugh, but he stoically refrained. "If you're done comparing me to Alphonse now, we can go work on that prototype."

"GAHH! Yes, I'm done, I'm done!" He shot off to locate the rocket.

"It's the other way, Ed."

There came an echo from halfway down the far isle. "I KNEW THAT, YOU IDIOT."

_A/N: Finally got into the boy love! Now that I've done it, I fear for Alfons's character. And Ed's. Hope they weren't too OOC._


End file.
